The Chronicles Book 1
by Julianna Tala
Summary: My name is Julianna Tala. It was suppose a simple turn-out for me when I moved into my uncle's ranch. I didn't expect to find that one of my favorite movies was real. So what happens when my cousin is accidentally wished away? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1: It Begins

**Hey guys. I got this inspiration from these random dreams I'm always having. I have always wondered what happened after the movie or show ended would happened if I was sucked into the movie or the movie was actually real, so I figured, hey why not tell about from my POV of what would happen. So remember, this partially fiction and non-fiction. So enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Labyrinth or any of its characters or creatures or places. Jim Henson will always be the creator of those great memories. May he rest in peace.**

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**It Begins...**

I hate my life right now.

That was the only thing that was running through my mind. I was currently stuck in my family's suburban, travelling to my aunt and uncle's who live about three and half hours from my Montana country home.

I guess should introduce myself. The name's Julianna Tala, age 15, Lakota-Mexican descent, the second-eldest out of four kids. I mainly go by Juli on the account that my name is too long. I was heading towards my uncle's ranch to start my high school years in a nearby town that was about 20 miles away from the property.

My mom was driving so she didn't see my youngest 12-year old sister, Lillian, ANNOY the HELL OUT OF MY MIND and my younger 14-year old brother, Michael, was being…well… my brother. He didn't really do much except what he was told, so he was in his own little world. And I have another sister, but she is away at university, so I only get to talk to her every now and then. My dad was asleep in the passenger seat and when he's out, he's out like a light.

I was trying her best to ignore my sister's constant overlooking, trying to see what I was doing on my laptop. Finally, my mind snapped.

"Get away from me, you little turdball," I growled quietly, moving the laptop screen closer to me. Honestly, I was trying to do my stories and it was kind of hard to do when there is a little owl perched on my shoulder.

"What? It's not like you're doing any work anyways," Lillian snidely commented. Lillian had always picked on me for my grades, saying that I was just plain lazy when she herself didn't do any work. Honestly, not everybody can maintain straight A's in their junior high school courses. Of course I maintained a report card that had mostly A's and a few B's, but I got tired of fighting with _her_ about it.

"Actually, I am! So you better stop hovering over me like a damn fly over a piece of meat or I'm goin' to hurt ya!" I scooted closer to my window sit. Knowing that I made good on my threats, my sister's attention was now on something else while I focused on the passing scenery I had seen so many times. The same hill range, the same trees that were changing their leaves to autumn colors, the same November air that passing around the vehicle. I closed my laptop and thought that this wasn't so bad, if you minus the constant poking and prodding from the others.

Now I wished that I had brought my paranormal romance books or at least brought my DVDs, especially my new Jim Henson's movie, The Labyrinth, or my rare copy of the 1999 movie-converted-dvd, Faeries, but those weren't coming until three days from now with the rest of my stuff.

I always loved fantasy and paranormal stuff, ever since I was little. My first love was the Disney's classic movie, Beauty and the Beast. I loved how the heroine, Belle, was strong and brave for putting her father's life before her own and how she stayed true to her feelings about loving someone based on his personality and not on his apperance. But what I loved the most was when the Belle ignored every comment about her being weird and not like any other girls.

In truth, I thought that I was the same way. I was always the odd one of the group. When the girls at pre-school would play with dolls and stay clean, I would always be playing with the boys outside and not be afraid to get dirty. As I got older, I definitely knew that I wasn't like the other girls. During elementary and junior high school, I was always hanging with the guys and wearing t-shirts and torn pants rather than partying with other girls who wore skirts and makeup. My mother would always complained that I should act more lady-like or try to wear makeup like Lillian.

Of course, I didn't pay attention to my mother when it came to "etiquette"; I was polite and did wear makeup, I just didn't wear the flashy eye-shadow and lipstick and didn't always act accordingly. Honestly, what do you expect out of a girl who has been raised on a ranch for all her life, act like the queen of England? Then I developed a love for books, movies, and tv shows that were always on fantasy and the paranormal, never reality and real-life.

I guess that that's why I read a lot. My life was just plain boring. In books and movies, there was always adventure and there was always excitement. Heck, I even loved the ones where the hero always got the girl in the end or the heroine got her dream guy.

"Kids! We're here!"

My mom's yell brought me out of my stare and I quickly put away everything in my backpack before I got out of the car and on to the dusty drive that was in front of a two-story big farmhouse. I ,with my suitcases, along with my family who had none, walked onto the porch and were just about to open the door when my big, 6' 5" tan skinned uncle, Kane Tala, greeted us at the door. My parents and uncle exchanged greetings and hugs before everybody was moved into the living room.

My uncle quickly grabbed me into a crushing bear-hug, making me drop my stuff, save my backpack. "Aye, how are you, ya little spider monkey?"

I tried my best to answer that one, "I'm okay...(_gack_)…can you let go…(_cough_)…oxygen…(_gasp_)…becoming an option.."

He quickly put my down and patted her shoulder. "Sorry there. Haven't seen you since you were 12. I gotta see how my godchild is holding up and tell her how excited I am to have her stay with us for a while."

I laughed at my uncle's antics. He was always the wildest out of my father's only three siblings, all of whom were men as well. "I'm doing great Uncle Kane. Thanks again for letting me stay here. Where's Aunty Lila and Adrian?" I asked, not bothering to hide the excitement from my voice. I couldn't wait to see my aunt and three-year old cousin. Aunty Lila was like a second mother to me and I couldn't help but love both her and the little boy who had the sweetest personality and the cutest chipmunk cheeks.

"Your aunt is in the kitchen working on the food for the cook-out and lil' Adrian's up in his room. He managed to catch a cold from the pre-school he goes to."

"Oh, poor little guy." I pondered my question before asking, "Is it alright if I go up there and cheer him up?"

"Sure you can go upstairs," he answered. "Just be careful. I don't want you to catching what he's got."

I passed him as I left him to talk with my folks after I kissed both of them bye and made my way to the kitchen that connected to the spiral stairwell. I stopped to say hi to my aunt and she gave me a tray that had a mug of chamomile tea and some honey toast. "Can you give this to Adrian when you go up?" Aunty Lila asked. "The honey toast will help with his cough."

"I will. Thanks Aunty Lila." And with that, I made my way. With my black cowboy boots and their queit _thump, _I slowly climbed the two-story staircase that spirally led me up to a floor that held a spare room that was to be my room for my stay on my right and on my left, Adrian's room.

I opened the dark oak door that led into a light blue room that had toy airplanes hanging from the slanted ceiling. I could see a small boy reading a pre-school book on a dark blue bed that had red accents on the blankets and across the pillow cases. I gently dropped my backpack on the floor and spoke calmly as to not scare the boy. "Hey Adrian. How are you feeling?"

Adrian put down the book and beamed a smile towards me as I walked towards him. "Juwee! You came!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his way of talking. He was a smart kid for three years old but he had trouble saying certain things, one of those happened to be my name. "Yeah little guy," I ruffled his dark colored spiky hair before I placed the tea on his bedside drawer and gave him the plate of honey toast. "Here. Your mother said this will help."

"Tank you!" He pulled the plate close before taking a bite. "Can you tew me a 'tory?" he asked, crumbs falling out of his mouth. Every time I would come to visit or he would come see me, I would always tell stories and he would loved the ones that I would think of. It was our source of bond between us.

"Okay, okay." I said, wiping the crumbs off the bed before I got off and faced Adrian. "What story do you want to hear?"

Adrian put his forefinger to his jaw and tilted his head, a sign that he was thinking. Then he asked, "To you know anting 'bout kings?"

The only story I could think of was my Labyrinth movie. It wasn't the only one I hadn't told yet. "Hmm. I got one." I got real close to the bed, sitting on my knees to place her chin on the bed, "How about a new story about a princess," Adrian stuck out his tongue and made a "blech," I laughed at this and placed a finger under his mouth to close it, "I'm not finished. It's about a princess who has to rescue her baby brother from a Goblin King."

That definitely got the boy's eye. "I wanna 'ear it, I wanna," he chirped loudly.

"Okay, okay." I pulled up a rocking chair that was near the bed and sit down, keeping an eye on the excited boy that was just about to jump out of bed. Once they were comfortably, me in a chair and Adrian in his bed, I began to tell him the story that I knew in the movie. "Once upon a time, there was young princess. She was beautiful as she was kind. She had many animal friends and loved to read books."

"When are you getting' to ta good part?" Adrian asked me impatiently.

"I was just getting to that. Anyway, the princess's mother died when she was a little girl so her father, the king had to remarry, but the new queen was mean and cruel to the princess. The evil stepmother would always give chores to the princess, never letting her have any fun and when the baby prince was born, the princess's life got worse."

"Worse?"

"It means even more bad."

"Ohh…."

"The princess loved her baby brother, it was just that the evil stepmother would always make the princess watch the baby. So one day, when the king and evil stepmother were out, the baby wouldn't stop crying."

"How come?"

"I don't know. Something was brothering him because he kept crying and crying. The princess tried everything: his favorite toys, foods and even his special teddy bear, but he would keep crying." I left off there as a bit of a cliffhanger.

Adrian stared at me with wide eyes. "Ten what happen'?"

"The princess got mad and said, 'I wish the goblins would come and take you away! Right now!'"

"Juwee, what's a cobin?"

"It's _goblin_ and they are these small, naughty creatures that come into your home and cause trouble for us." As I was speaking I got closer and tickled Adrian at the end of my explanation.

I let him go before he asked, "Like ta time my socks an' toys go missin'?"

"Exactly," I tapped him on the nose and continued, "A moment later, all the lights went out."

Just then, the lights flickered on and off before shutting down. I felt Adrian grab the sleeve of my shirt and we could hear my uncle downstairs say, "Power went out. I think the storm must've knocked down a couple of power lines." As if to puncture his words, I heard the rumble of nearby thunder.

I looked down to see Adrian clinging to my sleeve like a life-line and holding his favorite blanket. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story?"

Adrian looked up and tried to put on a brave face and nod but it didn't hide the scared glint in his eyes. I continued. "Let's see: the wish was made, lights go out,….oh yeah, the goblins began to come in to the room through."

As if on cue, we heard tiny chitterling all around them, little figures moving around in the shadows of the dark room, their small sounds sounding like tiny laughter. The windows began to rattle against the wind outside, the echoing flaps of wings against the glass becoming more and more clear. Adrian now began to hug me around my waist. "Juwee..." a hint of desperation in voice showed that he was beginning to think that the story was real, and I began think so too.

"It's going to be ok, Adrian." I rubbed his back in a soothing gesture. Just as the wind began to pick outside the bedroom balcony windows and the chitterling became louder, I felt my waist go free. I looked down to see that Adrian was no longer there.

"Adrian!" I looked around the room, my eyes trying to find the missing boy, but all I saw were the tiny shadows moving along the walls and wooden floor. Just as the storm began to howl outside with the ferocity of a hurricane, the window doors opened with a huge gust. I screamed as I shielded her eyes from the blowing wind and the onslaught of wings vibrating against the wind. Just as sudden the wind appeared, it stopped. I opened my eyes and what caught my eye made me suck in a gasp.

A tall handsome man standing the dark silhouette of the door frames, his wild blond hair following the paths of the wind, his dark cape surrounding his dark blue clothing, and his mismatched eyes of ice blue and golden honey pierced right through me. I couldn't say at what exact age he was, but something in the back of my mind was telling me that he was older than he looked. "Who-who are you?" I asked on a shaky tone.

The man moved away from the doorway and walked into the room. He had an aura that was a mix of intimidating and authority. "You know who I am," he spoke, his deep voice surrounding me, "You just summoned me not too long ago."

I went back over what I had just said and gasped slightly. "You mean that you're the…"

"Indeed." He summoned a crystal ball and began to twirl it around his hand as if it defied gravity. "I am the Goblin King." MY only thought in that moment was I was glad that this man wasn't a David Bowie doppelganger. Don't get me wrong, the similarities are there, it's just that since when is a movie that was based on anything true was ever right?

"Then that means that everything about the goblins, the children that are wished away, the labyrinth, they are real?" I asked slightly hysteric as I continued to watch the Goblin King and his hand-play with the crystal.

"Correct. You know, for a human child," he caught the little crystal in his palm, "You actually seem more knowledgeable than most. Then again most would be scared stiffed that one of their little 'fairytales' is real."

I shook my head. "Look. This is great and all and given any other time, I would have love to ask you a lot of questions, but I would really like it if you would return my lil' cousin to me."

The Goblin King studied me for a minute before he lightly threw the crystal towards me. I caught it with ease and studied it before I arched a questioning 'what?' brow at him. "That crystal holds all your dreams, if you look in to it," he explained. "However, in order for those dreams to come true, you must forget about the your cousin."

I immediately tossed the crystal back at him, slightly amazed that it froze in mid air before disappearing. "No offence, but if it's all the same, I would like Adrian back, please!" The last word came out a little more pleading than I had liked it but I didn't want to give up Adrian without a fight.

"Then you must fight for that right." He pointed out past the doors and balcony. I walked to see where he pointed and was shocked at where I was now.

The land that was bright with the colors of autumn among the trees were now replaced with another that held green and dusty yellow. The sky changed to light blue and there was now visibly sun but enough light for her to see a castle in the distance that was beyond an enormous labyrinth with multiple twists and turns. "Do you still want to look for your cousin?" I heard him questioned.

"It's not a matter of what I want now." I declared before turning back to see the Goblin King standing behind me, his arms crossed over his chest. "It's a matter of I have to do this."

"What a pity." I heard him said softly. He pointed to a gnarly tree that held an old grandfather clock face, except it held thirteen hours instead of the standard twelve. "You have thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth and get to the castle before the boy becomes one of us forever." I watched as both he and the clock fade with every word and his voice seemed to carry on the wind as he completely disappeared. "What a shame."

I looked back on to the labyrinth. I pulled a rubber band from my wrist and tied my hair into a half up ponytail and left the lower part of my dark black mid-back length hair down and my side bangs to the left of my face. "Well, might as well get goin'."

I looked around my feet to find that my backpack that I had dropped in the room was now with me on the ground. I knew I had packed several snacks just in case so I was good on food and supplies. I slung it over my shoulder and began to make my way down to the labyrinth walls, wondering the whole way down how in the world did my life turn completely upside down.

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**Soooo, what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Leave plenty of reviews and I may post the whole story and it's upcoming chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: Finding the Right Way

**Hello my lovely readers. I didn't know my first chapter was going to be such a big hit, so I prepared another chapter for you. Honestly, I really should be doing my math homework rather than spend most of my time on the computer….. Well anyways, here is chapter two for y'all!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth. I only own my protagonist.**

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Chapter Two: Finding the Right Way

After a short walk, I finally stood in front of the entrance to the labyrinth. I quickly scanned the wall cravings to see if there was some sort of mechanism or door knob to open it. No go. So I tried the next thing that came to my mind. I pushed the entrance with all my might, trying to force the doors to open. After about a minute or so, I didn't gain any ground except for the dirt on my pants.

I stepped away from the door and looked to the sky. "Is there any way to get into the labyrinth?" I shouted, praying someone could hear me.

As if someone did indeed answered, the doors slowly opened with a groan. I walked past the door to find myself in a passage way that seemed completely straight from both in front and behind me. I did the eeny meeny count in my head and picked the left direction to go. As I started to walk, I remembered something from a book, saying that the difference between a labyrinth and a maze is that labyrinths held optical illusions along the walls so that it appears that your only choice is straight while mazes give their turns right there in front of you.

I quickly looked around and found a good length stick that was about three feet long. I picked it up and began to trail the stick along the wall, hoping that my little guide stick will pick something up that I won't see. All of a sudden, I heard a tiny voice cry," 'Ey, watch where you're dragging that stick!"

The tiny voice made me jump a bit before I looked at the wall to see a furry little caterpillar with big eyes and a tiny blue scarf around its neck. I remembered this little creature from the movie and I hoped that the movie wasn't too far off the mark. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I quickly apologized. I moved the stick to face the ground as I knelt down to eye level with the worm and I couldn't help but ask, "I hope you don't mind, but is your name Jack?"

The worm shook his head, "Nope. That's me brother's name. He's down on the other end of this labyrinth." He pointed with his head and I followed his gaze before he turned back my way. "The name's John and it's all right. I didn' mean ta' startle ya." He pointed again towards my stick. "What are ya doin' anyways?"

"Oh, I was trying to find another passage way through the walls." I answered. "You see, I have to get to the Goblin King's castle before my baby cousin is turned into a goblin or fae, or whatever he is."

"Hmm." He nodded his head and looked back up at me, "Well, you're on the right track. You see that wall behind ya?" He motioned behind me and I looked back to see the wall that was covered in gangly vines and roots.

"Yeah?"

"Try your stick around that area." John offered.

"Okay." I got up and began to feel my stick around the wall. Immediately, I found an opening. I slowly walked past the wall opening and into another passage. "Thank you," I cried as I turned to the left to continue I journey. I heard a faint "You're welcome," before I was too far to hear it. What I didn't notice on way deeper into the labyrinth was a auburn colored barn owl watching my every move from a sprouted root from the labyrinth wall before it silently took flight to follow me.

-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T

Adrian didn't know what he should feel: scared or excited. He sat in the middle of the throne where all the goblins were up and about. Some were chasing a chicken, while others busy pounding each other. One goblin went as far as to throw another across the room and into wall. Said goblin laughed as the other slid down the wall with a whimper.

Adrian was about to laugh when he went into another coughing fit. All of a sudden, he felt two arms under his arms to left him up into the air as he caught his breath and stopped coughing. He looked to see a pretty lady in a medieval dress of red and gold, with long black hair, like his cousin, and sparkling green eyes. As the lady brought Adrian close, she asked, "What's the matter, little guy?" He thought that she had a pretty voice too.

Adrian stopped coughing as he answered. "I feew sick and I wan' Juwee." He looked down to see that all the goblins had quieted down and stop what they were doing. Adrian slightly clung to the lady's sleeve as he became a little uncomfortable from the stares.

The lady balanced Adrian on her hip before and turned to the goblins. "I want someone to bring some honey tea and food for the boy." She ordered gently.

All the goblins bowed quickly, "Yes, Queen lady." And with that all the goblins scattered, leaving the pair in an empty room.

"Tank you." Adrian quietly said.

"It's all right." She reassured him as she took him to the throne and sat on the wide seat. "What's your name little guy?"

"I'm Adrian." He answered, pointing a finger towards his chest. He redirected the finger at her and asked his own question. "How are you?"

"My name is Sarah," she replied, making a hand gesture in the air to conjure a crystal ball. "I'm the Goblin Queen and my husband is out at the moment, so I came to see you." Sarah give Adrian the crystal to let him play with it for a bit.

After Adrian handed back the crystal ball, he asked, "Where is Juwee?"

"And who is Juwee, I mean Julie?" She corrected herself.

"She's my cuzin and I tink she's lookin' for me." He answered. Sarah smiled as she held up the crystal in her palm and immediately, an image of Julianna appeared on the clear surface. She looked as though she was figuring out which way to take the next passage. Adrian instantly smiled at his cousin's picture. "Juwee!"

"What is this?"

Both Sarah and Adrian looked to see the Goblin King walk into the throne room. Sarah balanced the crystal in her hand so that she could get up with Adrian still balanced on her hip. Sarah walked over to her husband and gave him a kiss. "Welcome back, Jareth."

Adrian fought the urge to say "Ewwww," when he saw the couple kiss but that didn't stop him from sticking his tongue in disgust.

"Oh, and how is this charming little chap?" Adrian heard him talk and came face to face with a man with wild golden hair and mismatched eyes of icey blue and golden amber.

"This is Adrian." Sarah gave him the crystal that still had Julianna on it. "He's the cousin of the runner that's going through the labyrinth right now."

Jareth silently pondered over the matter before saying, "She's more intelligent than any other runner that I have witnessed in my life. I think I'll leave the over viewing to Sloane and I'll come up with some traps. Sloane had said that he wanted to keep an eye out for her."

Sarah threw him a glare. "I hope you're not doing anything to actual harm the girl."

"Nothing that I didn't do to you." He said calmly with a shrug.

Sarah extended her fingers as she counted off all things he did to her. "You sent me down an oubliette, sicked the Cleaners after me and Hoggle, practically threw us into the Bog of Eternal Stench, gave me an enchanted peach to forget my memories, called out that goliath robot and goblin army to stop us….. do you want me to continue?"

Jareth gave her a glare back. "Okay, so I will have think of something else to keep her busy." And with that he exited the throne room to figure out his traps.

Sarah shook her head as she turned back to Adrian who looked a little worried. "I'm sure your cousin will be fine. In the meantime, how about I show the garden?"

Adrian quickly nodded his head in agreement. Sarah laughed a little before she put down Adrian to grab his hand instead. As they exited the room, Sarah caught a goblin that was heading to the kitchen, "Scrub, please tell the cook that the food for the boy is to be outside in the gardens on the marble table."

The little goblin, Scrub, quickly nodded his head, causing Adrian to laugh. "Right away, Queen Lady." After the goblin made himself scarce, Sarah led the eager boy outside.

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**Well there you have it. Another chapter bites the dust. I will try to update on my other ongoing story, but that won't be for a while now. Once again, please leave plenty of reviews, constructive criticism is always welcome on my part and please….no flames!**


	3. Chapter 3: New Developements and

**Hello all of my lovely readers. Here is the new installment of the Chronicles. As I said before, I apologize for the long wait on my stories. I finally got accepted into the university of my choice and soon I'll be studying Criminal Justice in January...Yippie! Please note that if you notice any grammar mistakes, feel free to help me out because I do not have a beta and I proof-read myself for all my stories.  
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**Here's a shout out to all of my faithful reviewers who have been kind to leave their reviews.**

**MewCherryBlossom1 **

**notwritten **

**DeathFeathersLastingWords **

** Anna**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Julianna, Sloane (Yummy!), Ricki and Ticki, and the antagonists.  
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**Chapter Three: New Developements and New Threats!  
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After what seemed to be forever, I noticed that the walls began to slowly change from dirt clinging onto the walls to smoother, cleaner stones and the paths began to even out. The stones on the wall seemed to straighten out and realign themselves into the wall and the openings became more visibly too, so I dropped my walking stick and continued onward.

After passing through another opening and came upon yet another dead end, I decided to turn back until I heard someone giggling. I turned back around and I couldn't hide my surprise when the dead end was longer a dead end with a wall but instead it was two doors guarded by two shields that each had a body behind them (I think?) but each shield had two dog-like heads, one up top and the other on the bottom. I heard some snickering coming from the two shields and asked, "Wasn't this a dead end?"

"Nope," the blue guard on the right replied. "That's the dead end behind ya." He pointed behind me and sure enough when I looked back, the walls were closed up.

I jumped slightly and felt a rush of déjà vu. I totally forgot that this is something out of a movie, so hopefully there were some truth's behind this. "All right, changing labyrinth walls." I turned back to the guards and shrugged, "Now what?"

"Now you have to pick one of these doors to get you out," said the red guard.

"But be warned, 'cause one of these doors will lead you straight to the center of the labyrinth," trailed off the blue guard.

"And the other one leads to-," the red guard continued stopping for a voiced duh duh duh duunnn, before continuing dramatically, "certain death!" All the guards trailed off with an "ooohhhhh…."

I just looked at the blankly for awhile before they snapped me out of it, "So come on, which one?" they asked impatiently.

Thinking of no other way around it, I selected. "All right, I chose the left one."

Just as I got near the door, the red guard asked, "Well, wait a moment, don't you want to listen to our riddle?"

"Let me guess," I replied, "I have to choose between the two of you," I pointed to both of them, "And one of you always tells the truth, the other lies, and I have a feeling if I choose the right door it's a straight descent to an oubliette, am I right?"

They looked at each other, looked back at me, then looked back at each other. "How did she know that?" the red guard questioned.

"I don't know," his brother replied, "I don't know anything." They both snickered at the last statement.

I finally had it and just pushed the left door open. "Let's hope this is-woah," I didn't get a chance to finish, instead I was sent down a long tunnel-like slide, light coming through the grates above me. I know I slid for a couple of seconds before I was deposited into a dark room. The only light that was in there was the tunnel I came through and then it shut, leaving everything in my line of sight, dark.

Everything was black before my eyes adjusted to the lack of light. I thanked the spirits that I spent more time with the farm animals so my night-vision is better than any other, more so to a cat or coyote. I found my pack near where the tunnel was sealed off and made my way there. I rummaged through it when I got a hold of it and found my dark silver Zippo lighter.

With a quick flash, a small flame shone through a few inches of darkness. Then, I heard some footsteps in the quiet room. "Who's there?" I asked carefully.

I heard a "Me," before a match was struck and a candle shined brighter than my lighter, illuminating the whole cavern-like room in a dull glow. Flicking the lid back on, I quickly recognized the small figure that lit the candle.

"Are you by any chance, Hoggle?" I asked, his diminutive back turned around as I asked. He really did look like him: same height, same aged face and big nose, and same outfit from the movie. _So movies are sometimes real_. I thought

"Yep, that's my name." He hobbled his way towards me before stopping a few feet from I was on the ground. "So you're the new runner that the whole labyrinth's been talkin' about."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Unless they're any other humans in the labyrinth. Why am I in an oubliette?"

"Looks like we've got a smart runner," Hoggle chuckled as I stood up, slinging my pack back on my shoulders. "The labyrinth's full of oubliettes, so don't be surprised that you managed to get into one. And there ain't any doors or windows to get out of."

"I'm not surprised." I looked around the cavern, noting the small glimmers bouncing off the walls here and there. "The word oubliette comes from a French word that means 'to forget'."

"And lucky for you, I know a little detour that will take you completely out of the labyrinth."

I turned back to face him. "No way! The day I give up on my family is the day when Hades freezes over." I told him austerely. I sat back on the ground, Indian style with my legs crossed. "I'm not giving up."

I felt a pat on my shoulder and turned to see Hoggle with a considerate smile. "You've got guts, girl. I'll give you that, but let me be the first to inform you that it only gets harder from here on in and it will take more than guts to figure out the puzzle."

I shifted my body on the ground to face him fully. "Why are you being so nice to a stranger?"

This time, he shrugged his shoulders. "You remind me of my old friend who was runner here too, about three decades ago. She asked the same question and I told her that I just was. Nice young girl, terrible black oubliette."

I chuckled at this until I heard a stomach growl. I quickly looked to my stomach and thought that it wasn't from me, it was from Hoggle. I guess he forgot about lunch or something. Immediately, a proposition popped into my head. "You hungry?"

Hoggle stammered a little backwards and I think I saw a tinge of pink on his rough face. "I guess I am." he admitted. "I was called so suddenly that I forgot to bring my lunch with me."

I quickly rummaged through pack's side pocket and pulled out a sandwich in a Ziploc bag and extended towards Hoggle. "How about this trade? I will give you the food if you can take me to the center of the labyrinth, deal?"

He looked at me curiously, as if he was studying my offer, then at the sandwich. "What is it?"

I looked at the bag then back at him. "Tuna fish sandwich."

He hummed in thought, bringing his fist to his chin, as if thinking it over one final time. "Tell you what. I'll take you out of the labyrinth in exchange for you sandwich."

"You were goin' to do that before I offered!" I huffed, arms crossing over my chest.

"Yes, well the sandwich was going to be a generous thing on your part." He chuckled.

I rummaged through my backpack again and pulled out another plastic wrapped item. "How about this, if not to the castle then take me as far as you can go and I'll toss this in as well." I placed the item on top of the sandwich I had in my hand.

Now he looked curious. "Now what is that?" he asked, pointing to the 'offering'.

"Pemmican." I shrugged. "It's one of the foods my people make for expeditions. I always carry a couple on me. It's got fruit, nuts, and dried meat in it so it's safe to eat."

He looked the snack with hungry eyes before he agreed. "Alright, I'll take you as far as I can, but from there, you're on your own. Deal?" He extended his hand for agreement.

I took the roughen hand and shook it, "Deal," as I gave him the food. Hoggle managed to unwrap the plastic that was around the pemmican and ate it. I heard him hum in satisfaction while he made his way to pick up something on the floor. I realized that it was a door and I couldn't help but think that it's turning out exactly like the movie. I didn't quite believe that one scene where he put the door next to wall, opened it, and there was the way out. Well…at least until he did the same thing right now, and sure enough there was way out as he opened the door.

He motioned for me to follow him and I did. We made our through a slightly narrow corridor until we heard some voices that almost sounded like thunder. "Go back from you came."

"Turn back….Turn back…"

"Beware, this is not the way…"

Hoggle mentioned from beside me, pointing the human-like faces that were made of the stone walls, "Ahh, don't mind them. They're just false alarms."

"At least we are on the right track then, if they're telling us to turn back and seeing as they are 'false alarms'." I said in return.

I got a laugh in return from Hoggle. "Well, well, we really do have ourselves a smart runner."

"How about just callin' me Julianna, or Juli." I said tiredly. "I'm gettin' tired of everybody callin' me somethin' like an object rather than a person."

"All right, all right. So longs as you don't get my name wrong." He implied.

I nodded. "Deal."

Then another voice decided ring out, "Turn back-,"

"Oh, will you be quiet!" Hoggle cut off the false alarm.

"Sorry, just doing my job." The stone-face replied.

"Yeah, yeah I've heard it before, pal." Hoggle waved off.

"Take heed-,"

"Not you too." Hoggle cut off another one.

"Aw, please, it's been such a long time since I've done mine." The wall almost whined.

"You know, you don't have ta be rude to them, Hoggle," I added in, scratching the back of my head in thought.

"All right, all right," he sighed. "But don't expect a big reaction."

"No, no, of course not," the stone-face replied politely before clearing his throat to resume his booming tone, "Take heed for the path you take will lead to certain doom."

At this time I noticed a very strange crystal ball rolling near my feet. I wouldn't have caught it if it were for its unusual art. The sphere inside looked as if purple mist and lighting was caught inside the ball, which itself was roughly the size of palm. I heard myself utter a, "What in the...?" and Hoggle mutter an "Oh no," as my eyes followed the crystal's path. I felt this compulsion to follow the ball and I did for few steps before the ball seemed to bounce itself into a cup and the one holding it liked a beggar in raggedy clothes and a wide brim hat to hide his face, the only thing that seemed to be abnormal was the bird-like beak extending for the hat. "Well, well, well," said the concealed beggar in mocking gravelly voice, one that already my body tense, "What do we have here?"

Hoggle must have recognized him or something because he moved back to the nearest wall in fright, almost as if trying to get away from the person. "Ohh…umm…nothing, nothing at all."

"Nothing?" The beggar repeated, standing immediately, my guess him being close to 5'5", 5'6". Again he repeated, "Nothing?" The beggar disguise being pulled away to reveal a guy with jet black hair that was swept to the side, some of the hair sticking up in the back, his clothing much like the steampunk fashion I saw on the web, with a matching dark vest, pants, and boots, along with a dark blue long sleeve that seemed to hug the lean muscles of his arms.

Aside from the piercing mixture of his heterochromatic green and blue eyes, the guy could pass off as Adam Lambert's twin brother, even with the way he was pulling off the black eyeliner. "Nothing, ha ha ha?" He continued, waving the disguise around till he flung it against the wall. Even his voice almost sounded like the pop star; just maybe a note or two lower. Right then, I felt this wave of knowing and remembrance just wash over me. I didn't know how, but for some reason, I knew him from somewhere before.

I almost missed Hoggle's introduction, either out of fear or out of respectfulness, I don't know. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing his head slightly.

"Your majesty?" I squeaked, directing the question towards Hoggle.

"Umm, yes, you see, He," he motioned to the tall guy, "is the son of Goblin King and Queen. Prince Sloane, Heir to the Goblin Kingdom and the Labyrinth."

"Sloane?" Even the name sounded familiar to me. I guess I unconsciously reached to touch the onyx and turquoise beaded necklace my grandfather gave when I was little, because I felt the sharpness of the wolf and bear teeth press against my palm. I looked down to see that my palm had the indentions when another palm that was bigger than mine lightly cupped the teeth and stroke them as if trying to feel their touch.

Looking up, I saw how close he was. I felt very small next to him, with me being 5'2", so that was pointing out something. Wait… when did he get this close?

"So it's actually been thirteen years." I heard him whisper. He looked at me with a spark that I couldn't quite place. Was it recognition? Wistfulness? Maybe even… love? "Do you even remember me, I wonder?" He asked. I didn't know if it was a rhetorical question or not, so I answered.

"I doubt I could forget someone like you." Good lord, I hoped that didn't sound too preppy like it did as I backed up against the wall. The room around me started to feel small as Sloane started to really invade my personal space.

"I should hope so." He answered back, continuing to further crowd me as I pressed myself against the wall. I swear I began to feel the indention my pack was leaving on my spine. He placed his left forearm just near my head to lean in closer. "I've always been told that it's best to leave an impression rather than a memory, that way," He leaned in even closer, my eyes caught in his like a snare. I could feel his breath mingle with mine as I tried to calm down my breathing from becoming pants, "it's less work for both the person trying to place the memory and for the person who is trying to make that memory." He lifted his free hand to lightly cup my chin.

"What do you want?" I bit out rather harshly, trying to keep my emotions under tack. I felt like I wanted to do nothing but embrace him and never let go. Was this guy emitting pheromones or something?

I felt him move his hand towards the lower part of my hair that was out of the half ponytail, stroking the long length as if it was silk itself, his eyes following his hand. "If I was to say I wanted you, how would you react?"

I felt myself stiffen. "How about if I give you my answer instead?" I could hear the sickly sweet almost drip off that question. I made sure that he only saw my 'sweet' smile before I planted the heel of my boot _hard_ on his. "No."

He backed off, his face not showing a hint of pain, the slight impish grin still on his face. "Oh, feisty. I like that." He chuckled. I swear I could feel my skin give off goosebumps as he laughed. "So, how are you enjoying the labyrinth? I hope it's not too…. arduous for one such as yourself."

I straightened my shoulders and forced a defiant look on my face. "I've made it this far and I can take whatever you can throw at me!"

I hear Hoggle groan an "Oh no…" before the prince walked a little further back. "Oh really?" He said slyly and I knew that I was in for it. "You think that you can handle what I can throw at you?" He held up his palm and a crystal materialized. "Then catch." He threw the crystal at me.

I cross my arms in front of me, bracing for the impact that never came. I had my eyes shut so I didn't see anything, but felt the wind kick up around me and then settle. I peered opened my eyes and I found that I was in a different part of the labyrinth. The walls were all green-leafed hedges that were close to about seven or eight feet tall. I noticed that the sun hung almost high in the sky and wondered how much time had passed. I almost didn't hear the growling coming from behind me. I turned around and met the scariest pair of big cats I ever laid eyes on. They were the size of full grown tigers, their hides' dark brown with black stripes, slited eyes that glowed molten amber and menacing teeth full bared. Honestly I thought they were ocelots pumped up on steroids.

Okay, Julianna. Don't show fear and don't turn your back on them. "Nice kitties," I said calmly as I began to back up. That didn't work as one decided to roar and charge towards me. I completely forgot about rule #2 and ran.

I kept peeking glances behind me, while keeping my balance to stay forward, and sure enough I would seem them on my tail. Apparently they had the stamina of gazelle despite them being felines.

Anyway, I wasn't sure how long I kept running through sharp turns and long passageways. Soon enough, I managed to get some distances in front of them, but not for long by the distance I could hear their snarls.

The way I was thinking, mere minutes could have been seconds. Pretty soon, I felt the sensation of burning creeping up into my lungs and legs. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty good runner considering that it was my job to run after my family's horses after they would get out of the corral, but I was only human. Soon enough I hit the wall. No really, I pretty much ran straight into the damn thing. For a second, I wiggled my nose just to make sure it wasn't broken, after I pretty much peeled my face of the brick. Feeling around the brick on wall, I knew I couldn't scale this one, even if I grew claws.

I tried to backtrack my way out but no later than I faced my back to the wall; those two ocelots were blocking the way, cornering me up against the wall. Their volumes intensified as they stared me down. I felt myself plaster against the wall, the crevices of the wall being pressed into my back. I could see their claws extended and grip the ground, their sleek bodies ready to pounce. Just as they were about to, I heard this thump on my right and I saw this thick vine rope that lead to the top of the wall. I could hear these tiny voices on the top yell, "Hurry, lady climb up."

Hey I didn't need to be told twice. I climbed up. I was a good twenty feet up the wall when I looked down the wall to see the ocelots scratching and howling up the wall in defeat. I put them out of my mind as I made my way to the top. Using what's left of my upper body strength and breath, I heaved myself on the top of the ledge.

After situating myself into a sitting position and letting my lungs rest for a bit. I looked towards where the vine was and saw the cutest thing… ever.

Two little goblins with wide eyes like kittens stared back me. One had a small hat that covered the tiniest of yellow hair and clothing that matched to a little boy's outfit I've seen on medieval movies and the other had black hair pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a little girl's version of a milk maid's outfit. They didn't exactly look like the goblins that I saw on the movie, but to me, they were just plain adorable.

"What are two little ones like you doin' out here?" I asked.

The little boy goblin replied first, "We hear the Bastalins**(1)** come. We saw pretty lady being chased. We help."

"Well, thank you for the help." I looked down the wall and saw that the cats that were chasing me, the Bastalins I guess, were gone. Strange. And I didn't hear anything. I turned back to the goblins. "So what are your names anyway?"

The little boy answered, "I is Ricki," He took the little girl goblin's hand. "And this is Ticki, me sister." The little girl just waved her little hand before she ducked behind her brother's back. I bit my tongue from squealing at the cuteness of the scene.

"So why are you out here? Where are your parents?" I questioned.

All the little boy did was shook his head and shrug. "Don't know. Never met them."

All I could say was, "Sorry to hear that." I soon felt this weird tingling sensation on the back of my neck. Out of habit, I turned to see if there was anybody behind me. There wasn't, nor did I see anything else unusual as I scanned everything else, so I turned my attention back on the two little ones in front of me.

The little boy put a smile on his face so wide I could almost the cheeks. "It's okay. We have older brother Tavi to take care of us."

My eyebrow just went up slightly. "Older brother Tavi….hmmm…," That sort of reminded me of an old movie I once saw but dismissed it as I took a look at the ledge we were sitting on. It was wide enough to for two walk side by side and I could see on the other side of the ledge that it was a dense forest. Further beyond that, I spotted the dark outline of a castle that looked somewhat menacing; though I'm pretty sure it was from the lighting. Brushing off the dirt as I stood up, I readjusted my pack and looked down. "Thanks again for the help. I'd better be on my way now."

Just as I pardoned myself past the two, I feel this sudden weight on my shins. I looked down to see that they had attached themselves to my legs and looked up at me pleadingly, "We come too," Ricki proclaimed as Ticki nodded her head in agreement.

"But you can't," I argued. "There's going to be a lot of danger if you come with me and I can't guarantee your safety by staying with me. No doubt that either Sloane or his father will planning something for to prevent me from getting my cousin."

"We know," Ricki chirped. He managed to climb himself up and onto my shoulder. "That why if we go, we show you where all secret passage ways through the labyrinth and help stay out of trouble."

Then Ticki spoke up softly as she climbed up to my other shoulder. "And where big brother, I go."

After looking between them for a few minutes, I let out a breath of defeat. "_Mendokuse_**(2)**. All right, but don't be wanderin' off or cause any trouble for me, ok?"

They nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good." I swung my arms around so I can find a comfortable position for both me and the two goblins on my shoulders. I got into a stance and warned them to hang on as I took off like racing horse out of the gates. I knew from the way they were hanging on to my neck and pack that they had a pretty good grip, but the next thing that I felt almost made me stop.

For minute there, I could have sworn that I felt this presence right next to me, running and giving me strength to gain more speed and the next thing I knew, that feeling had disappeared and I had gained the momentum that I need. So in using the speed, I leapt a good 10 feet over the trees, in doing so surprised me and the little ones. For a minute there, we seemed to almost float in the air, like leaves on the soft blowing wind.

It was Ricki who brought me out of the trance. I could tell from his voice that he was just as awed as I was. "You fly?"

"No." I answered. "Jump good." And with that, we made our descent through the trees.

-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T

What Julianna was unaware of was that someone was indeed watching her. Two figures with dark cloaks hiding their features were watching her face each of her challenges through a large mirror that was made entirely of water. The source of lighting was from these crystals that were strategically placed along the stone walls in a hexagon shape, and from the circle of runes that were giving off a green-blue color from each symbol.

The first figure spoke, his cerulean eyes gleaming with malice, "She seems to take everything in stride and she hasn't even face the harsh elements of our people's power yet. She could mean trouble for our plans," His deep voice carrying an edge to the sentence, his fierce face, along with his seemingly gold hair tied at the bottom of his nape, enhanced the threatening tone in his voice.

The smaller figure who had her long red hair in ringlets and carried the same maliciousness through her emerald eyes chuckled, despite her seemingly flawless beauty. "Fret not, my dear brother. I have no worries that _this_," she sneered at the water mirror's image as Julianna narrowly escaped the two felines, "little _soith_**(3)** will be of no hindrance to us once I dispose of her." Her hand glowed with a fierce green before bring it down in a karate-like swipe, cutting the water in half right where Julianna's face was. "Then I'll have no competition in winning the Goblin Prince's heart and taking the power that rightfully belongs to us."

Suddenly, a voice broke through the air, "I wouldn't count on it."

Both turned to see who it was and sure enough, another figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal Sloane; however instead of the mischievous manner he had displayed for Julianna, he carried a scowl and an aura which seemed to exude fury and anger. "If you so much as harm a single hair on her, I'll make you both regret of every coming into existence." He snarled, sending a glare to both of them that would have made Neji Hyuuga impressed**(Yes I'm using a Naruto reference. They work…).**

The red-haired beauty chuckled again. "Your majesty, I hope you've come to reconsider my offer to take me as your bride. I'll even add in the guaranteed safety of the young runner that you seem to have quite the fascination with to sweeten the pot. Now what do you say?"

She barely had a chance to finish that line before Sloane launched a small stream of lightning past the woman's face, just barely grazing her cheek, leaving a small welt that began to bleed. A horrified expression ran across her face as she was pushed behind her brother, his sword ringing as he pulled it out of its scabbard.

"You seem to forget who you are dealing with, Fayela**(4)**," Sloane gritted past his teeth, letting his canines show. "I didn't even have to raise my hand to fire my warning. You know my answer and I suggest that you and Reinhold**(5)** leave before I find another reason to do away with you right now." It took everything he had in his control and will power to not kill them right on the spot. How dare that witch waltz into his kingdom and practically demand for his throne and how dare they threaten the safety of his _croí__gealladh_, his promised heart, **his soulmate**? He had made a vow long ago to never let anything detrimental befall on Julianna and Hell could freeze over before he broke that promise.

Fayela practically snarled as she conjured her magic into her hand. "This will not be the last you have heard of us!" She lifted one hand while her other grabbed her brother's cloak as a bright light filled the cavern. Sloane didn't flinch as he saw them both disappear into the light and the light dimmed back to the original lighting of the crystals.

Sloane moved towards where they were standing, right in the center of the runes. Saying a few murmured words, the water flourished and rose up to conjure another mirror. In it, Sloane saw Julianna running along the wall's top, a faint glow running beside her before it disappeared and she jumped. As she soared for a moment in the air, the image froze, leaving in place Julianna smiling brighter than the sun, her hair wisping around her like an angel's halo and her arms out, strong and steady.

Sloane sighed at the picture, his strong voice filled with wistfulness. "I'm not surprised that you don't remember me, my little captivating warrior." He reached up to touch the surface of the water, his bare fingertips making ripples in the water. "I just wish we didn't meet up again this way. And with your birth-given power hidden so carefully, I'm glad that your grandfather had the foresight to give you that necklace. If he hadn't, you would probably attract trouble or get yourself into trouble, whichever comes first when it comes to you." He let himself have a laugh before a hand wave brought the mirror up to date. He saw Julianna descend through the tree line and past the leaves, watching with pride as she maneuvered herself along the branches with the same likeness of a monkey towards the ground. It seemed like she wanted to show off for the two little goblins clinging on to her shoulders as she approached the last branch. She let her hands catch the branch, the momentum of her fall carrying her under and over the branch like a ninja before landing gracefully on the forest floor.

Another wave of his hand brought down the water mirror and he turned to leave the circle. "I promise you Julianna." His voice carrying on through the silent room, "I will protect you no matter and maybe I can make fall in love with me, just as I had fallen in love with you long ago." And with that Sloane summoned one of his crystals to smash into the floor, creating a show of bright light, sound and smoke. As the smoke disappeared, so did Sloane.

* * *

**(1)-Bastalins are basically ocelots that are the size of tigers. Name derived from Bast, the Egyptian _Goddess_ of protection, pleasure, the sun, moon and fertility.**

**(2)-_Mendokuse_- Hopefully, we all know what this means. In case you don't, it's Shikamaru's famous words for "How troublesome."**

**(3)-_Soith_-Irish for female dog (We all know what _that_ means I'm sure)(First time using Irish/Gaelic translations so further apologizes if I had it wrong.)  
**

**(4)-Fayela-Female, English, Fayela, Faith and beauty  
**

**(5)-Reinhold-Male, German, RINE hold, A wise and powerful ruler.  
**

**And scene. I hope everybody enjoyed reading this chap as much as I had fun typing it out. So happy I finally made Julianna meet Sloane (please note that even though I based his looks off of Adam Lambert, he is totally 100% my own creation) and incorporated some evil to the plot. Ultra happy about Julianna's mad skills. I'll post the link for Julianna's necklace on my profile since it's not letting do it on the story.  
**

**What did Sloane meant about Julianna not remembering him, what was that mysterious presence and what are Fayela and Reinhold up to? Stay tuned next time find out.  
**

**To my all-time BFF Julia, I hope I made you proud. Well until next time.**

** P.S I'm hoping for at least five or six reviews.  
**


	4. AN Bullentin: Assignment World

**Assignment World!**

**Hey everybody! Julianna here with a call for help here. I'm currently working on the next chapters for _The Chronicles_ and _Crimson Gemini_ and I need your help. **

**For _The Chronicles_, I'm planning on my avatar's source of power to show up and I need some tribal tattoos each of the following: Wolf, Bear, Coyote, Eagle, Snake, Bison/Buffalo, Horse, and Orca. If anybody can find something similar to an +Anima tattoo, I'll discuss the terms of a reward with you. Free lance artists are welcome to send anything in as well. **

**For _Crimson Gemini_, I need ideas to keep the story flowing. Remember, it has to support the couples that have already been shown and no Masaya/Mark bashing please (I feel that he is a nice guy but he needed to go.). Other than that anything is welcomed so long it's under the T rating.**

**Well that's it for now folks and I humbly thank those who are taking the time to read this. **

**Until next time**

**~~Julianna Tala~~  
**


	5. Chapter 4: Spirits and Shakespeare!

**Hey y'all! Sorry if I have been unfaithful to my stories. I've been super busy with my college papers and guess what, I joined the Navy and I'm headin' out on active duty in May so I'm excited. My older sister hates though, says that she's losing a nanny...and she's the one who's graduating in May as well. Anyway, I've also signed up on Deviant Art, so if you want to find me and my drawin's, just look up my pen-name in the search engine and couple of my drawings should pop up. Well, here's chapter four. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Spirits and Shakespeare? **

**Julianna's POV**

Once I landed on the forest floor, I let the two goblins slid off my shoulders and I watched them as they started jumping up and down with excitement.

"Lady jump so high! We went _whoosh_ and flew across the trees and—and—!"

"Went through trees, and went around the tree—and—and—!"

I placed a hand on each of their tiny heads. "Whoa, slow down the motor mouths there." I began looking around the area where we landed. Knarly trees were clustered together to make a dense forest. Boulders and dried leaves coated the pathways, making the scene look almost peaceful as a small wind breezed by me, kicking some of the leaves up into their own dance. "Now, we've got to figure out where the castle is?"

"Why do that?" Ricki asked.

"I've been taught that if you have a primary objective and you're lost, just follow the straight and narrow path until you have reached your destination." I looked back down to the confused faces. Honestly I thought it was too cute the way they had their heads cocked to the sides. I kneeled down to their level and pointed to where the castle lay in the distance, the opening of the trees was just too perfect. "Find the castle, find your way towards the castle."

"Ohhhh," They nodded simultaneously. Didn't know if they understood but I was taking it. Getting back up, I dusted off my pants and gestured towards the path.

"Shall we begin?"

They smiled as they went ahead of me and I was following behind them. We traveled through the path for about twenty minutes. They were always ahead of me, pointing out the things for me to look at with the same fascination they were showing. Pretty soon, we came up across another wall. This time, this wall had several indentions, like someone tried to take it down with a wrecking ball. The wall was the same as before, no place to grip to climb.

"Now what?" I questioned, scratching the back of my head.

I heard a small squeak and I turned to see a flurry of leaves but no Ricki. "Ricki?" I heard another squeak and I saw that Ticki was also taken. I kept looking around but I found nothing. I was completely alone in the thickest part of the Goblin Kingdom forest and I face-palmed myself for my sheer stupidity. This was the part in the movie where Ludo mysteriously vanished and I couldn't believe that I forgotten that one tidbit of the movie.

I heard a twig snap and out of reflex, I kicked my leg back, feeling a pressure on my foot and a grunt corresponding with impact. I turned and got into a bear stance (opened hands brought to shoulder level with fingers spread and almost curled to make nails noticeable like claws), and ready myself.

Imagine my shock to find that there _was_ someone behind me. I couldn't make out the face because of the hood covering the majority of his face and body but I did notice that he was tall—maybe about the same height as Sloane—and that he had really menacing looking sword out and was pointing right at me.

I tried the next thing to deal with a psycho with a sword: talking. "Hey, buddy. Do ya mind puttin' down the sword before you poke an eye out or somethin'? I mean, can't we talk this over as to why you are pointin' that thing at me?"

Imagine my reaction to his calm answer. "No point in talking, human. In order for us to gain power," he raised the sword above his head, "you must be eliminated." He brought down the sword to cut me down but I jumped out of the way, my body tumbling before getting back up.

"Uhh, no thanks, I'd rather not get eliminated by a shady goon who has the cowardice of a mouse." I snapped back as I tried to tackle him. Big mistake on my part. I completely missed him as he was gone in a flash and kept out of my line of sight. I kept looking until I felt this pain whip across my cheek and soon another in my back before everything went black.

J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T

Reinhold watched as the dark-haired human went sailing into the vine-covered wall from his back-hand and was knocked unconscious, her tiny body slumping to the ground, dark bangs covering her eyes as her head fell forward.

Clenching the sword in his hand, he made his way towards the human. "I never would have imagined such fire from such a tiny thing." He contemplated as he thought back on her last words. Truly, she held no sign of fear or cowardice towards him. Not even when she tried to talk him out of killing her. He thought that she must have saved fighting for a last resort. He himself had no qualms with that method and personal loathed bloodshed, but being bond by royalty, he had to follow orders from the court to the T. In this case it was by the order of his only-living blood sister who was power-hungry, to slay the 'filthy human' that stood in the way of gaining more power to their family name.

Though he didn't expect her to notice him behind her with a sword raised, ready to strike her down where she stood, and he certainly didn't expect her to land a painful blow on him. He was definitely going to have a boot-shaped bruise on his stomach tomorrow. Looking down at the human, he steeled his emotions as he raised the sword, the point lined up towards her chest, where he knew the heart laid. "You fought with a warrior's spirit and fire. Had you been born Fae, I would have considered you a possible comrade and rival." He pulled back the sword, "But for now, I grant you a swift death."

Just as he was ready to run his sword through, a shield encircled the human, encasing her in a translucent green light.

That light began to grow and intensify. It grew so bright, Reinhold had to draw back and shield his eyes with his free hand. All too quickly, the light was gone, the remnants clinging to the girl like an aura. After drawing down his hand, he saw that the light again receded from the girl's body to the necklace.

What he saw next left him speechless. Using the wall as a brace, the girl stood up. Keeping her head bowed, she got into a different stance, one for attacking. This time he almost didn't see her move until she had a tomahawk that was ready slash across his stature.

He raised his sword to block the blow, the clashing metal ringing out from impact. Pushing back with the blade, he forced her back, watching as she used that energy to jump back about twenty feet from him. It was when she stood up straight that he noticed that she was….different.

She seemed to stand up taller, broader, and handle herself like a warrior ready to fight to the death, especially the defensive way she was holding that tomahawk. However it was her eyes that give her a completely different look. Instead of the dark brown that he saw earlier, it was the piercing gold color that was staring back at him. In fact… those eyes… they were wolf eyes. A trait that he knew no ordinary human held.

That and the voice she spoke with, "You place another hand on Julianna, and I will formally send you on a one-way trip to the Spirit World." He could hear another voice overlapping her's; thick-accented, deep, and masculine. It was without a doubt that whoever was in Julianna's body now, it was defiantly a male with supernatural powers.

He smirked at the obvious challenged, not exactly caring of the sudden change in the human. "Well, there lies the problem. I have my orders to eliminate Julianna. Do I least have the courtesy to know the name of the one who stands in my way? " He brandished the sword just a little to catch the light on the blade.

"I was known among my people as The-Silver-Wolf-Who-Dances-With-Ghosts." He answered, flicking his/her wrist to make the tomahawk go in a complete circle. "But the white men called me Silver Wolf, so that's you may call me. That is if you live long enough afterwards to say it."

"Oh, I assure you that I will live long enough. As for myself, I am Reinhold and I let you take that name," He raised the sword, "With you back to the afterlife!" And brought it down, and again Silver Wolf blocked it with the tomahawk.

The fight between the two went on for about a good three minutes, each attacking and reciprocating with their blocks. Grunts, war cries, and ringing metal filled the air like a battle-raged symphony playing to the scene of two warriors fighting for the right to live.

Just as they were both about to attack each other, an invisible force came between, forcing both to stop mid-way through their attacks. Actually the force was so great, they were literally frozen in their positions—Silver Wolf ready to swing his weapon from the side and Reinhold bringing his sword from the top—save for their faces for breathing.

"Well, I can say that this has gone long enough." A playful voice rang, followed by a small orb that zoomed out of the forest and around the two, stopping to get a glimpse at the two. Soon the orb stopped a few feet from the frozen duo and began to take shape, giving way to a person with a brown shirt under a purple toga, gold belt to tie the middle and blue slacks with brown boots. What struck out the most about this person was the long white hair and elfin ears. All in all, he could have been mistaken for medieval jester with the playful smirk he had on his face. "I thought you would have learned by now to _not_ miss with Sloane's heart," he directed towards Reinhold, "Unless, you really want to be beaten within an inch of your life."

"And I thought you would have given up these childish pranks after the Elizabethan era, Goodfellow. Now release me!" Reinhold snarled, tugging at the invisible bonds that were encasing his body.

With a wave of his hand, Goodfellow unfroze Reinhold. "Ah, the good ole' sixteenth century. Back when witchery and the fae folk were the answers to everything, from sudden cures to good comedy, to sudden deaths. But we're getting off track a bit," he waived his hand in the air but still kept the barrier between the two. "I suggest you put away your sword Reinhold, unless you want me to turn it into something that will bite you back."

Still keeping the deep frown, Reinhold sheathed his sword. "You know I can't disobey an order from the head of my council. I have to destroy her or—"

"Or be destroyed, I know, I know." Goodfellow interjected. "It's one of the many reasons I don't like your sister to begin with. But you do realize that I can't allow any harm to come to my godson, and that includes his intended. You're just lucky that I caught you and not Jareth or Sloane."

"So what do you intend to do to me? I can't go back and report that I failed to eliminate her." He gestured towards Silver Wolf/Julianna.

Goodfellow thought on it for a while, his chin resting between the bridge of his forefinger and thumb. "I suggest you lay low for now, stay under your sister's sight and wait until Julianna is done with the Labyrinth trial, that way you can say that you couldn't find her on time."

Reinhold let the idea mull around in his mind and decided that there wasn't much he could do at this point anyways. "All right, I don't like it but what choice do I have at this point. However, it's my head that she's going to come after if she hears anything about this, and if she _does_, it's your head that I'll be coming after." And with that, Reinhold transformed into a black hawk and took off into the distance over the tree tops.

Goodfellow watched as Reinhold flew off and turned to the frozen human. Waving hand over the front of his/her mouth, he said, "Here's the deal. I unfreeze you and you don't try to attack me. I'm not a threat to your precious ward, I just want to help. Deal?"

Silver Wolf blew a bang that got into his/her face. "Deal."

Dispelling the enchantment, Wolf landed on the ground and stood up, this time in a more relaxed position. "Thank you. I am curious though; why do you want to help Julianna? From what I've seen so far, this labyrinth is riddled with traps and for all I know, you could be one of the traps."

"Hmmm, too true, too true. I could easily send you back to the beginning of the Labyrinth and let you work your way back again," he said playfully. "But I feel that helping you would make this game a lot more interesting."

Silver Wolf mulled on what he just said, still not buying what he said. "And what if this is another trick and you are helping this so called 'Goblin King' and his son to keep Julianna away from her cousin?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself for your skepticism." Goodfellow answered slightly annoyed. "Fun as it maybe to help my dear cousin and nephew, I see the bigger picture here and in a way, I am helping them by keep your ward alive and well. I've seen what happens to a Fae when he loses his chosen heart. Believe me, it's not a pretty sight."

An eyebrow rose on Silver Wolf's face. "Who or what are you? I've heard of many things from the spirit world but I've never heard of your kind."

"Oh, where are my manners?" He did an elegant leap into the air, floating as if it was as simple as breathing. "I have gone by many names throughout my existence in human life, but I am He who is called Robin Goodfellow, loyal court jester of Lord Oberon and Lady Tatiana, High Monarchy of the Seelie Court." He descended to the ground, the playful smile still on his face, "But I do go by Puck as well. I've earned that title from an English playwright. Always did love his plays, albeit most of them were about madness, rage and death."

A sweatdrop appeared on Silver Wolf's head. "I think I call you Puck. Much simpler." The tomahawk that was in his hand dissipated into the air. "What do you plan on doing with us, then?"

"How about we start with including your ward into the plan? I'm sure that she wouldn't want to wake up in a sudden random place."

Silver Wolf nodded his head and took his place on the ground, sitting with legs crossed and arms hanging over the knees. Letting his/her breathe slow down, Silver Wolf closed his/her eyes and went into a meditation state.

J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T-J-T

_Juli…Julianna…Wake up…_

That's what I heard ringing through my head before I opened my eyes slowly as I felt the soreness radiate through my body. I definitely was going to be in pain tomorrow. "All right, I'm up, I'm up," I groaned as I rolled onto my side, cradling my head in the palm of my free hand. "Anybody catch the number on the bus that ran me over?" I asked, not expecting anybody to answer.

"I see your sense of humor is still there."

My eyes shot opened as I heard the voice. I noticed that everything around me was pitch-black and I looked towards the deep voice who answered. Boy, to say that I was surprised would have been an understatement.

There in front of me was wolf sitting on its haunches, white was the primary color of its soft-looking fur, the black color painting on the paws like socks and the stripe that ran from the tip of the muzzle to the end of the tail, leaving the bushy appendage, for the most part, black and underneath it was shaded white. What struck out the most was the pair of golden eyes staring back at me, like they were looking right into my soul.

I blinked a few times to make sure this was actually happening. "Okay, hearing voices out of nowhere and seeing a wolf with mismatched fur. I must have hit my head hard this time."

This time, I did see the wolf talk. No really, I saw the mouth move with the words coming out, "No, you did not hit your head and for further clarification, you're not seeing things. And I hear I thought you kept an open mind to anything, Julianna."

"Hey, I do keep an open mind." I snapped back, and I caught myself as I thought out loud, "Wait a minute, how do you know my name?"

The wolf shook his fur before he rest his head on the paws. "I have watched over you ever since you were born." Before I opened my mouth to talk, he interrupted. "And yes, I know everything about you. Born on March 25, 1997 to Joseph and Miranda Tala, you are the second-eldest of four children, three girls and one boy. Since you were born on a ranch, you didn't grow exactly normal. You learned all the traits from the animals around you: climbing and flexibility from cats, running and stamina from horses, and enhanced sensory from dogs. You didn't like anything girly while growing up since you take after your father more than your mother and you still don't like anything girly. Your usual outfit is a pair of dark blue jeans with a t-shirt and the bear and wolf claw necklace your grandfather gave you when you were three years old. Your favorite color is purple, favorite food is pizza, favorite hobbies are working, reading and writing, and you sleep with a purple stuffed teddy bear your parents gave you on your fifth Christmas and its name is Indigo."

By now, my mouth was hanging open and my mind was blank. "Okay, so you do know me." I squeaked out. "I have a question though. Why?"

The wolf's head perked up little and shook his head. "I cannot explain my full reason as to why I am here, not yet at least. It's not my place to tell you. All I can say is that, I'm your guardian ghost and whenever you need me, I'll be right there with you, like I was before."

My head just clicked as he said that last bit. "That energy that was with me on the wall, it was you wasn't it?"

He nodded his head. "Yes, it was me. I merged my spirit energy with yours and that's what gave you that extra power on the jump."

I nodded in understandment, scratching my head at the situation that was going on right now. "So now that's been somewhat explained, now what do we do?"

"Now you need to wake up." He sat up and walked towards me, his muzzle leaning towards me and I didn't know why, but I leaned my forehead to touch his and then there was light.

I felt my eyes open and I found that I was back in the Labyrinth, sitting in Indian-style on the ground. Slowly getting to my feet and standing, I felt this sudden bolt of pain on my cheek. I hissed in pain as my hand felt my now-throbbing cheek, "Oww, I'm defiantly gettin' that guy's number and give him a good thrashin'."

It wasn't until I heard a chuckle coming from in front of me that I decided to look. I think I'm getting used to weird things popping right in front of me or somethin' because I'm was looking a guy with white hair, pointed ears and was donned in a medieval outfit with a playful smirk on his face…Yep defiantly getting use to it. "I can see why Sloane practically lost his heart to you. You are indeed a very interesting human."

I just blinked owlishly at him before getting the question right. "And you're suppose to be….?"

He only held up three fingers, the playful smirk still on his face. "I'll give you three guesses."

I mulled over an idea in my head and spoke the one thing that was at the top of my head.

"Either I mistake your shape and making quite,  
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite  
Call'd Robin Goodfellow: are not you he  
That frights the maidens of the villagery;  
Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern  
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn;  
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm;  
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?  
Those that Hobgoblin call you and sweet Puck,  
You do their work, and they shall have good luck:  
Are not you he?"

He knew what I was saying and replied back with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Thou speak'st aright;  
I am that merry wanderer of the night.  
I jest to Oberon and make him smile  
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,  
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal:  
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,  
In very likeness of a roasted crab,  
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob  
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale.  
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,  
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;  
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,  
And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;  
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,  
And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear  
A merrier hour was never wasted there."

We both laughed for a moment before we talked again. "You know, you're rare sight indeed." He told me, "Not many can recite a Shakespearian play word by word, let alone a 17-year old."

I felt an eyebrow rise on my forehead, letting the 17-year old comment slide. I have always been confused for an older girl, so by now I'm used to it. "I'm 15 and I read a lot. It just so happens that Shakespeare is one of my favorites." I corrected him, shrugging my shoulders a bit. "Though it means a lot to me that you said that Mr. Goodfellow."

"Oh, please drop the formalities. They make me feel mortally old." He waved off good-naturedly. "You can call me Uncle Puck or Robin, seeing as we're practically family now."

I felt my head snap up at the family comment. "Whoa! Back up. What do you mean by family? Last time I checked, I was still human (maybe…) and single."

Robin just shook his head, the smile changing from jokingly to kind. "Maybe I should have said that we're _going_ to be family. Not exactly my place to tell you why, but just know that fate couldn't match anyone more perfect for my nephew."

I felt the gears turning in my head as I questioned him. "Your nephew wouldn't happen to the Goblin Prince, would he? Ya know, tall with mismatched eyes, spikey black hair and wearing steampunk fashion, because if he is, then I'm questioning fate all together."

Robin laughed at my comment. "Yes, that would be Sloane, my nephew as well as my godson and please don't question fate. It'll just leave behind a nasty headache."

I gripped my bangs from their roots as I blew a breath out. "That's great. Just great. I'm supposedly paired up by the universe to a pretty boy with an overconfidence issue that threw magic at me and sicked over-grown cats on me as well. Oh and to top it all off, he supposedly has known me ever since I was a kid, but I have no earthly idea who he is." I remarked sarcastically. A stray thought ran through my head and I turned my head back to Robin. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Like I told you before, it's not my place to tell you, but we getting off topic here." He landed smoothly on the ground before continuing. "I'm in charge of over-seeing your safety and seeing as your current problem is gone, how about I give you a small leeway towards the center?"

The offer sounded good. Maybe a little too good for my suspicion. "Why does that sound almost too good to be true and why would want to help me? Isn't this like cheating a bit?"

"It is," Robin answered impishly, "But let's just say that I like to throw a knot into the spindle's work. Plus I just like giving my cousin trouble."

This time, I shook my head. I didn't sense any bad vibes from him, so I figured that he can't mean any harm. "All right, I'll take your deal; just don't send me to the beginning to the labyrinth. I really don't wanna hurt ya."

Robin stretched his hands upwards, cracking his fingers as he got ready. "I have no doubt that you would." He gathered the magic in his hands into a light blue orb. "One fast ticket, coming up!" And with that he threw the orb towards my feet and I felt myself being teleported again as the wind whipped around me and the light blinded my eyes.

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Robin Goodfellow a.k.a Puck watched as Julianna disappeared into the magic and winds, letting the breeze carry the small particles of sparkles towards their destination over the tree tops. He waited for a second, and then another before he addressed to the hidden figure in the tree line. "You can come out Sloane. She's gone."

And indeed, Sloane walked out of the dense forest and towards Robin. "You can always tell when I was close by, Uncle. Ever since I was small, you always had some way to sidestep me whenever I would try to surprise you."

"Well seeing as I was your mentor on Fae magic, I know ever trick you were going to pull and still able to stay at least 3 steps ahead of you." Robin laughed.

Sloane nodded, scratching his head in contemplation. "You do realize that father is going to have your head if he finds out that you helped Julianna cheat a bit."

"I wouldn't call it cheating." Robin replied. "It's more like giving her an extra boost." He turned towards Sloane, arms crossed and the teasing tone in his voice replaced by seriousness. "What I want to know is why were the Bastalins sent after her? I thought your father got rid of them after they made a snack out of a few stray goblins and almost killed another runner a few years back."

"He did." Sloane answered solemnly. "Mother made sure that they were gone as well, but somehow, they were re-conjured and now they are loose in the labyrinth." He blew out a small puff, lifting the bangs from his eyes briefly. "I'm currently in charge of who brought them back and I have a couple of suspects, but right now my primary concern is that Julianna gets through the Labyrinth safely." Sloane turned to make his way towards the trees before Robin stopped him.

"Just out of curiosity, what would you do if Julianna _does_ succeed in getting through the Labyrinth in time? I know you're trying to avoid the same mistakes your father made with you mother, but wouldn't that put a damper on your plans?"

Sloane still had his back turned, his whole body tensed but Robin heard the conviction in his voice. "Then I revise my plans. Whatever happens to her, at least now she will know that I will be there for her. I was lucky enough to have met my _croí__geallta_ when I was young, Uncle. Very few Faes get that chance and I'm not going to let her slip through my fingers, not when she's so close." And with that, he shape-shifted into a barn owl and followed the magical trail that was left behind from Julianna's teleportation.

Robin watched all this from the forest floor, letting out a sigh as he recollected his thoughts. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, my boy. You are too much like your father in that aspect, over-possessive and over-protective towards your soul mate." He cupped his chin between his forefinger and thumb in thought. "Well, it's going to make for some great entertainment to see how Julianna responds to him."

A small dusting of magic started to circle around him from the bottom-up, making his body almost disappear as the dust sped up. "Maybe I should bring some popcorn. This is going to be very interesting to say the least." Was the last comment Robin made before completely disappearing.

* * *

**Well, another wrap for another chapter. I hope y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I finally got to write it. I have decided to use the same method of spirit unity as the Shaman King show. I couldn't help it, the show was so cool and this chapter was screaming for me to write this way. If y'all are wonderin' on what Julianna and Sloane actually look like, please check out my deviant art gallery. I hope that it lives up to y'all's expectations. **

**Please read and review.**


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